A Quick Note On This Review: This article includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org as a way of supporting both local bookshops and my own ability to write.
Robin Swift grew up an orphan in Canton until an Oxford professor named Richard Lovell adopts him and takes him back to England to get an education. While there, Robin suspects that he may be Lovell’s child, but is more focused on his language studies as he attempts to be admitted to Babel, the institution where magicians learn to manufacture the silver bars that power the nation’s arcane infrastructure and fill the kingdom’s coffers. However, once he’s a student there, Robin begins to doubt whether the magical world he aspired to is really as miraculous as he hoped it would be, and when he realizes just how much exploitation underpins England’s grandeur, he must decide how far he’s willing to go in service to his ideals.
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang is an intriguing mediation on the role the academy plays in colonization, exploitation, and power that brings to the forefront the role that theory plays in the larger world. While Robin is introduced to books and learning as a way of escaping his impoverished situation, he’s met immediately by the racism and discrimination that comes with his placement in an English institution. This is further exacerbated when he enters Babel, the specific college that deals with the development and creation of the magic silver bars using languages to induce meaningful change. At first, everything is fine, but the longer Robin studies at Babel, the more he comes to understand that the power of the silver bars doesn’t stem from some innate property, but from the exploitation of peoples, and that the only way to keep the British Empire empowered with the silver they’ve come to rely on is to continuously find new languages to exploit.
Kuang’s novel is less dark than The Poppy War and its associated trilogy, but it does explore in detail the dark history of the academy as an imperial force. Kuang’s specific focus on the exploitation of language is unique in its approach as a magic system, because it simultaneously endorses the power of words and provides a fresh addition to discussions of the colonization of language. For some, this may make the story a little more academic than other kinds of novels, but it still had enough literary qualities to be enjoyed even with the more cerebral elements alongside it.
For casual readers, therefore, Babel, or the Necessity of Violence would likely appeal to anyone who enjoys a fantasy novel situated in academia. Kuang’s novel brings to life a uniquely magical world that still maintains the soul of academic life, so it would appeal to both fans of stories with these components. Due to Kuang’s exploration of the ways the academy is a force for imperialism and colonialism, it’s also worth calling out that her use of the academy and magic in the book would appeal the most to those who are interested in dark academia specifically, and perhaps those who are most interested in exploring ideas of colonialism and exploitation. However, even if the only thing someone is looking for is a dark, entertaining tale about a young man who learns the world isn’t as wondrous as he imagined it would be and decides to take action, Babel offers something that can be appealing.
For writers, Babel, like many of Kuang’s works, offers a solid template for exploring the ways that power, ignorance, and racism can hold influence over the world. Specifically, Kuang’s novel takes a look at the role universities have played in both disrupting and maintaining the status quo in the face of challenges by exploited people, similar to M.L. Wang’s Blood Over Brighthaven, though in Babel there’s a slightly different take that asks the question of the reader whether violence is ever truly necessary in situations like these. Regardless of what side a person comes down on, a writer could use some of the tools that Kuang employs to shape their own stories so that there’s an extra layer of depth and complexity for the reader to enjoy. Finally, Kuang’s creativity in developing a magic system that relies on language as the main mode of power stands out as something that could inspire a writer looking to do something similar since it offers another option to explore in the magical worlds powered by words.
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What’s Next?
I am an avid reader and have quite a few thoughts on how some books could benefit both people that want to be entertained and those looking to sharpen their literary skills.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I’ve been reading – and how it could benefit you – I will be publishing those thoughts on a weekly basis. Check back next week for a discussion of Leigh Bardugo’s The Ninth House!
The Writerly Review 